Louisiana Lawyer Indicted for Defrauding Clients

A federal grand jury has indicted a 67-year-old New Orleans attorney on one count of mail fraud.

U.S. Attorney Jim Letten says Robert Hackett represented professional athletes in their workers’ compensation claims and defrauded them of about $462,615. Letten said Friday that Hackett, from January 1997 through December 2007, allegedly mailed correspondence to his clients and to his clients’ insurers in order to secure payment for their sports-related injuries. Authorities say he then deposited the insurance payments into his own bank account, spending the money for his own personal expenses.

In many instances, Letten says Hackett forged his clients’ signatures and deposited the payments without his clients’ knowledge.

Letten’s office did not release the victims’ names.

If convicted, Hackett faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.